


Save It For The Living

by PhantomWarrior99



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Straight Angst, You Have Been Warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 08:56:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19720399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomWarrior99/pseuds/PhantomWarrior99
Summary: The ones we love the most are the hardest to let go.





	Save It For The Living

Wish I could see you happy

Get on with your life without me

Think of me as something beautiful

Not the bitter end

I'm the reason why you're feeling life is broken 

So hear me

I don’t want your love

Save it for the living

\--------------------

"Damn it, Y/N, hold on!" Gabriel scrambles for the archangel blade, fear gripping hold and he can see the blood seeping from your wound.

"Aw, you still have a soft spot for that particular mistake?"

"Shut up, Lucifer!" He blasts his older brother back a few feet and it grants him enough space to retrieve the blade.

"Whatcha gonna do, baby bro? Fight me or save the girlfriend? Man, that gaping _hole_ in her side _really_ doesn't look good." The Devil taunts, peering at you with something akin to amusement.

"Go to hell." You choke out, applying pressure to your stab wound.

"I _run_ hell, sweetheart. I've been there _more_ than enough times."

Gabriel steals a glance over his shoulder at you, concern etched into every inch of his features.

"I'm okay. Kill the bastard." You assure him with more confidence than you have.

"Hang in there, Y/N." He gives you a short nod, focusing his attention on his older brother.

"Oh, come on, Gabriel. This is _pointless._ You know I'm going to win, baby bro. Might as well throw in the towel and try and save your _whore._ "

"My _whore_ can take care of herself. _You_ , on the other hand, are going to wish you had someone watching out for your soon to be very _dead_ ass." Gabriel twirls his blade, circling with Lucifer.

"Call me a whore again and I'm going to gank you _both_." You bite back, managing to prop yourself up on one elbow.

"Sorry, sugar." Gabriel apologizes, a playful lilt in his voice, his gaze never leaving his big brother.

"You should be," your eyes skim the surrounding room, no doubt hoping for cover if too much grace is thrown around.

"You know, with Sam and Dean both upstairs, you won't have the _Winchesters_ swooping in to save the day. Little Cassie is trapped in the Empty, and _Jack_ , well, without his grace, he ended up just like those sorry excuses for _surrogate fathers_ , in the ground. When I _kill you_ , you'll stay that way."

"You overestimate your abilities, Lucifer. You may have taught me everything I know, but you've never been the better trickster."

Lucifer's eyes widen for a moment, spinning just in time for the real Gabriel to bury the blade in his chest.

" _That_ is for trying to kill me, you dick." He twists the hilt of the archangel blade and the light behind Lucifer's eyes flares in a show of brilliant white and blue and fades. Gabriel lets him drop to the floor, the shadows of his wings painting the floor beneath him as Gabriel steps over and rushes to your side.

"Y/N--"

"I'm still breathing, feathers, calm down." You assure him, wincing as you try to sit up.

"Don't try to move," he kneels beside you, concern bleeding through whiskey as he assesses the extensive damage, "Hold still," he reaches for you, surprised when you stop him.

"Don't."

"Sugar, you're _dying_. I need to heal you," he argues, confusion replacing concern.

"I'm done."

" _What_?" He stares down at you in disbelief, "What do you mean _done?"_

"I don't want you to heal me, Gabriel."

"You're not making any sense--"

Your features soften, "It's time to let me go, feathers."

"No, you're disoriented, let me help--"

" _Gabriel_ ," you interrupt sharply, taking his hand in yours, trembling fingers entwining with his, " _Please,_ just hold me."

The archangel starts to protest, cutting himself short only after his eyes find yours. He isn't sure he knows how to breathe beneath the weight of your request, the silent plea in your eyes that he prays you don't mean suffocating any glimmer of hope. It feels as though an eternity has passed before he relents, shoulders sagging in defeat before he gathers you into his arms, agony lacing his voice as he speaks, "All right, sugar. You win."

Golden hues flare when his hands smooth over your skin, a firm, yet delicate hold as he cradles his favorite soul. Once, it was calming--borderline reassuring--to watch the burning embers ignite beneath his touch, almost as if the flames are fed by his proximity. He was never sure you were aware of it, if the racing of your heart and the crimson in your cheeks told you _exactly_ how you felt, just as it told him. The archangel almost wishes he could've shown you how brightly your soul glowed when he touched you, when his grace merely whispered across your skin from the other side of a room, when his wings wound affectionately around your frame when you dozed off on the couch with a lore book draped haphazardly against your torso.

He wishes you could've seen the world as he does, seen the electric sparks in all living things, the glimmering lights beneath flesh as ordinary people do ordinary things. It's a beauty to behold, but, most of all, he wishes you could've seen his _true_ form in _all_ its glory. He wishes he could'vs shown you the golden feathers that line his wings, the celestial behind the vessel, the being that has fallen, irreversibly, in love with you.

Yet, now, with your soul flickering, wavering, _fighting_ to stay alive, or to let go, he aches for a time before the joy left your eyes. A time when you were surrounded by friends--Sam, Dean, Castiel, Jack, Bobby--your _family._ When they finally passed, when the archangel was all you had left, he was forced to watch, in agony, as you slowly lost interest in the life the two of you had fought so hard for.

You missed them, more than anything in the world, you missed the people who had made life worth the fight. Lucifer may have dealt the final blow, but you had died, with _them_ , years ago. He can see that now. His ability to keep you _young,_ to keep you at his side--it was a curse more so than a blessing.

"Sugar--Y/N," his voice cracks, his hand pressing against the gaping wound in your side as he fights back tears.

"It's okay. I'm ready, Gabe," you offer a weak smile, the pad of your thumb brushing over his cheek and he inclines his head into your touch.

"I'm _not_. I know it's selfish-- _please_ , let me heal you."

There's a tenderness in your gaze, the shattered shards of your heart aching for him, "No. I've surpassed my lifetime, I've--" a cough tears through your frame and Gabriel tightens his hold around you, grace seeping beneath skin to ease the discomfort.

"Please, don't ask me to let you go." He leans his forehead against yours after you regain your breath.

"That's exactly what I have to ask of you, Gabriel. It's been a good life, one that most can only _dream_ of. Not many can say they spent the better part of fifty years with an archangel that was willing to smite hoards of demons to rescue his wife from hell."

A small smile spreads tugs at the corner of his lips and he swears he can feel the relief rolling off you like waves, "I told you, the title was only _technical_. Angels don't have wives, we have soulmates."

A coarse laugh, more of a hollow wheeze, fills the quiet room, "You really wanna argue 'bout that now?"

"Hey, it's my last chance to prove you wrong." The smile flourishes across his features and he can read the telltale signs of amusement in your eyes.

"Always have to have the last word, don't you, feathers?"

His heart soars at the nickname, pounding in his chest as he swallows the lump building in his throat, voice faltering as he speaks, "You know me, there's a reason they call me Mr. Right."

His gaze darts down towards your chest, the spark of your soul fading, the thrum of your heart failing and he sets his jaw. He can feel your eyes on him, staring up at him with concern and he summons all the strength he has left to force the agony from his gaze.

"You'll be okay without me," you promise, "I'm just upstairs. You can visit, Gabe."

"I know, I'll just miss you, sugar." He presses a soft kiss to your forehead, tears slipping silently down his cheeks.

"I'll miss you, too." Your eyes lock with his, "Always remember, Gabriel, I love you."

"I love you, too, Y/N."

There's a shadow of a smile in your lips before your chest falls for the last time, y/e/c falling shut as your head sags against his shoulder.

It takes a moment and Gabriel crumbles, his frame curling around yours, wings encircling his trembling form as the tears fall freely. He isn't sure how long he holds you, but, at last, he picks you up, carrying you from the abandoned church.

He gives you a hunter's funeral. He knows what it means and he knows he'll never be able to bring you back, but it's what you wanted. So, he stands just beyond the pyre, flames dancing before whiskey orbs as the hole in his chest crumbles into a chasm.

He's on his own, once again and he hates it, but, he'll carry on. For you.

"Goodbye, sugar."

\---------------------

**Author's Note:**

> Hey folks!  
> Well, two fics inside of two weeks, that's gotta be some kind of a record for me. xD  
> As usual, please leave a kudo/comment and let me know your thoughts!  
> ~ Phantom


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